Novak Djokovic vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Cincinnati Open 2023: Second round preview, Head-to-head record, live streaming info

Djokovic, who won the titles in Cincinnati in 2018 and 2020, begins his campaign this year against Davidovich Fokina in the second round.

FILE PHOTO: Novak Djokovic (left) faces Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (right) in the second round of Cincinnati Open. | Photo Credit: Getty Images & REUTERS

Two-time champion Novak Djokovic takes on Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the second round of the Cincinnati Open, ATP 1000 Masters event, on Wednesday.

The clash is scheduled to be the fourth match on the Center Court on the fourth day of this year’s edition.

When and where to watch?

The Cincinnati Open second-round clash between Novak Djokovic and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina will be live streamed on SonyLiv. The match will start at 4:30AM IST on August 17.

World No. 2 Djokovic will play his first singles match since the loss to Carlos Alcaraz in a five-set thriller in the Wimbledon final. The 36-year-old Serbian will also be competing in a singles match on US soil for the first time in two years and in Cincinnati after four years.

He could not enter the US last year as it required the international travellers to be vaccinated against COVID-19. He also missed the Masters events at Indian Wells and Miami this year due to the same reason. However, the US government ended the vaccine mandate on May 11, clearing the way for Djokovic’s entry. 

Djokovic teamed up with compatriot Nikola Cacic in men’s doubles on Tuesday where the duo lost 4-6, 2-6 to the Brit-Kiwi duo of Jamie Murray and Michael Venus.

Spain’s Davidovich Fokina came to Cincinnati after his run to the semifinals at the Canadian Open in Montreal last week. It took him to a new career-high ranking of 23.

In Cincinnati, the Spaniard began his campaign with an easy 6-3, 6-3 victory over Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina.

Head-to-head record

Played: 4 | Djokovic: 3 | Davidovich Fokina: 1

Djokovic and Davidovich Fokina have faced each other four times with their latest duel taking place in the third round of this year’s French Open where the Serbian survived two tight tiebreaks to eventually emerge victorious in three sets.

Their only clash on hard court happened during the Tokyo Olympics where Djokovic won easily.

YEAR	TOURNAMENT	ROUND	WINNER	SCORE
2023	ROLAND GARROS	ROUND OF 32	DJOKOVIC	7-6(4), 7-6(5), 6-2
2022	MONTE CARLO MASTERS	ROUND OF 32	DAVIDOVICH FOKINA	6-3, 6-7(5), 6-1
2021	TOKYO OLYMPICS	ROUND OF 16	DJOKOVIC	6-3, 6-1
2021	ROME MASTERS	ROUND OF 16	DJOKOVIC	6-2, 6-1